[1] When duke Henrie had assaied all the waies how to take it, and saw that he could not preua [...]le,Duke Henrie raiseth his siege from Notingham. Polydor. he min|ded to loose no more time: but raising his siege from thence, he ranged abroad to get other places into his possession, and finallie came to his mother, and laie at Wallingford. King Stephan in the meane time being strong in the field, sought time and place to haue Henrie at s [...]me aduantage, who in his yoong yeares (as yet not hauing tasted any misfortune) he thought would rashlie attempt some vnaduised en|terprise. ¶ But whereas the realme of England had béene now manie yeares miserablie turmoiled with ciuill warre (which the verie heathen haue so de|tested,The miserie of this land in time of the ci|uill warre. that they haue exclaimed against it with a kind of irksomnesse; as:

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Eheu cicatricum & sceleris pudet,Hor. lib. car. 1. ode. 35.

Fratrúmque: quid nos dura refugimus

Aetas? quid intactum nefasti

Linquimus? vnde manus iuuentus

Metu deorum continuit? quibus

Pepercit aris?Idem. lib. car. 2. ode. 1. iam litui strepunt,

Iamfulgor armorum fugaces

Terret equos equitúmque vultus)

Wherein (besides millians of extremities) honest matrones and mens wiues were violated, maids and virgins rauished, churches spoiled, townes and villages robbed, whole flocks and heards of shéepe and beasts destroied (wherein the substance of the realme cheeflie consisted) and men without number slaine and murthered, it pleased the goodnesse of al|mightie God at length to deliuer the land of these miseries, which were notified to all countries round about that sore lamented the same.